Living with Stress

Oh MY God.  Why do I do this to myself??  So I have these patent loafers up for auction right now.  I'm selling them for a friend of mine who asked for my help.  I listed them twice for a fixed price and they didn't sell, so I took a chance and listed them as an auction.  Now with 11 hours to go, they've been bid up to $11.50 and have 10 watchers.  And I'm FREAKING OUT because these are worth so much more!  Yes, most of the bidding on an item happens in the final hours, and yes most items actually end up selling for their market value but OH MY GOD WHAT IF THESE DON'T!!

Curious?  Want to Keep Vigil with Me? Click here.

I know, I know, I keep telling you guys not to worry about individual item profits, that you have to take risks to make money, blah blah blah blah.  And I still fully believe that and feel good about it - when it's MY ITEMS at risk! :(

Alright.  So these have 2 bids and 10 watchers.  That means at least 3 people have yet to bid (according to my bidders to watchers ratio philosohpy, which you can find here).  I've been tweeting about them, I'm posting them to Facebook in a minute, and I've emailed a couple of repeat buyers to stir up some interest.  Any other ideas for how I can draw in some traffic in 11 hours??

Rant over.  Thanks for listening.  I'll keep you posted.

The Great Sell-Off Continues from the Big Apple

Well, sort the Big Apple.  More like Chatham, New Jersey, but close enough.

My cousin, who is always immaculately dressed and chicly accessorized, is moving in a few months.  As part of her big move, she has started to sort out which of her fabulous clothes she needs, and which she doesn't.  I should also mention she is infinitely more meticulous than me, and therefore owns garments from the 1990s that look like they might be a few days old.  Two of the items she's asked for my help with (these are not from the 1990s!) are two pairs of Salvatore Ferragamo loafers, both in fabulous spring colors and immaculate shape.  One of them actually appears to be pretty rare, and could probably got for quite a bit of money.

Here's my dilemma, though.  I'll tell you guys a secret. I'm actually a terrible salesperson. More often than not, I let things go for waaay less than they're worth. However, because what I need from eBay is a regular source of pocket money, I price things to sell rather than being patient and waiting for someone to come along and pay what they're worth.  It's pretty easy to sell stuff like that when it comes from my own personal stores because my margin after fees is always 100%.  With other people's items I have to find a way to make some money AND keep the owner satisfied.  With my cousin, this is what I decided to do:  I asked her up front how much money she was hoping to get for the shoes.  She gave me a figure that, given how good these shoes look and the fact that they're Ferragamos, seemed pretty reasonable to me.  In fact, accorcing to my research the figure she gave me is significantly less than these shoes are worth.  So, we agreed that she would would keep that amount and that I would keep anything over that amount I happened to get for the shoes.

So, in a departure from my 99 cent and free shipping strategy, I've actually listed the two pairs of shoes as Buy It Now with a Best Offer option.  I've set the Buy It Now price at my cousin's price plus a small margin, and plan on accepting the first offer that will allows me to give my cousin her money and keep a couple of days' lunch money for myself.  If this works out, I'll continue the possibility of working as a selling assistant in addition to selling my own stuff.  But first, I have to get good at it!! 

Wish me luck folks, and good night from the New York Metropolitan Area!